I haven't a pet or a boyfriend, so I've got plenty of love to throw at my reviewers. Love you all! x3
Chapter: 4/12
Characters: Dark, Satoshi, Krad, Daisuke
Pairing: Krad/Dark; Dark/Satoshi; Dark+Daisuke; Daisuke+Satoshi
Complete One-X Playlist: YouTube deleted my first account, which had the playlist on it… Now it's lost and I'm too lazy to put it back up. Sorry folks. nn;; Just look it up on YouTube though. Someone else should have a One-X playlist up.
--
The world we knew
Won't come back
The time we've lost
Can't get back
The life we had
Won't be ours again
--
NEVER.too.l.a.t.e
Mocking wine eyes locked onto cool tawny ones, and two matching smirks were mirrored on both their faces. Situated several feet away from each other, the opposites were at a standoff. A stifling silence rang loudly throughout the heated atmosphere, doing everything but alleviating the tension in the air.
"Fancy meeting you here, Dark Mousy," Krad began, his tone perfectly eloquent – as though he still had the power to destroy the other. "How has new life been faring for you? Perhaps you know by now that I've been quite busy with mine. Been doing a few things…people…"
The mocking eyes smoldered with rage and the smirk was reduced to an animalistic sneer. "Care to say that to my face, blondie?" Dark took a threatening step forward, his teeth bared and his clenched knuckles white.
"I would more than care to do that, Mousy." In a burst of speed Dark could only stare amazed at, Krad appeared before him, golden hair swishing. "In fact, I would love to."
Dark growled under his breath, his wine-colored eyes flashing and his face less than a foot away from Krad's. "Why Daisuke, you bastard?" he started abruptly.
Krad's cool face remained indifferent to Dark's fury. "Would you rather he be lonely? Isolated? You and Satoshi had abandoned him. I had no choice but to approach him. I was simply there to pick him up and put him back on his feet."
Dark froze at the mention of the part he played in Daisuke's suffering. "Then explain the scars! Explain why he cries your name at night, looking so pained."
"He asked for it."
Dark didn't realize how literal Krad's statement was. "Daisuke doesn't deserve any of your bullshit, Krad. You hurt him, and I will never forgive you for what you've done."
Krad grasped the tip of his ponytail, stroking it slowly with his gloved fingers. "I don't recall ever asking for your forgiveness, Mousy," he responded smoothly.
"Don't patronize me, Krad!"
Now seething, Dark reeled his arm back, preparing to ruthlessly pulverize Krad's smirking face. However, when his shaking fist was less than an inch from the other's nose, a white, gloved hand rapidly shot out and grabbed his wrist, preventing him from causing any damage to the blonde's face.
"Dark." Krad called the other by his first name for the first time since their initial encounter, his placating tone contradicting with the scornful sneer on his face. "Now why would you do that?"
Dark slowly locked eyes with his opponent, his own violet ones widening in shock that his attack had been stopped.
"Why would you try to harm me for what I did for your little redhead?"
"'For'?" Dark repeated, aggravated. "You did nothing but hurt him. You did nothing but make him feel pain!"
Krad's tawny eyes flashed dangerously. "Oh, and you didn't? I found him and he was hurt by you. You took something precious away from him, and you even went so far as to isolate him. How did I harm him when all the things that you have done to him have caused him pain worse than the physical kind?"
"I did no such thing! What did I take from Daisuke? I gave him all I could, and I would give my life for him!"
Krad chuckled lowly. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Dark."
"I will keep that promise until I do die, Krad, and don't you dare think otherwise."
"You don't have to die to give your life, dear other." Krad's voice had become a sudden soft, and his golden eyes had dulled from a piercing glare to a nearly gentle glitter. "I will resist him if I am allowed…you."
Dark froze the moment that last syllable was uttered from his enemy's lips. "M-me?"
"You." Krad cupped the black angel's cheek in his right hand, leaned forward so very slowly, so very deliberately, and pressed their lips together in an intimate kiss.
It went no farther than lips touching lips, but Dark anxiously pushed away with a start, his normally composed eyes wide with panic and turmoil. He ran a hand over the cheek Krad had cupped, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Wh-what?" he stammered, his fingers trailing from his cheek to his tingling lips.
Krad merely laughed at his befuddlement. "Am I not allowed you, then?" He scoffed. "Hmph. You were never one for keeping promises anyway, Dark. So much for your dear Daisuke's innocence," he sneered scornfully. "And to think – you could have prevented it." Another burst of hateful laughter bubbled from Krad's lips, and without another word, he turned and walked away.
Dark stood in silence, his body ramrod stiff and his fingers still ghosting over his lips. He watched with perturbed eyes as Krad walked briskly away from him, until the demonic angel was nothing but a speck of white and startling yellow among a fresh meadow of lush green grass. He blinked, willing away the chaos swirling within his mind, and his limp fingers curled into a fist.
"Damn that bastard. Damn him to hell and back."
"Dark? Dark, did you hear me?"
Dark started from his reverie, his eyes snapping open and up to lock with Satoshi's. "…What? I'm sorry, no."
The blunette made a muffled noise caught in between a scoff and an impatient snarl. However, despite the irritation showing on his face, Satoshi's eyes, although shielded by the pair of glass lenses we wore for no reason at all, were filled with concern. "I asked, 'Are you all right?'"
Dark nodded too quickly for Satoshi's liking. "Yeah…just thinking about…you." His uneasy countenance quickly melted into his usual playboy façade, and he smirked at Satoshi with unholy eyes. "About you and what fun we had last night…"
Satoshi's face burned a bright red. "Y-you don't have to say it like that. We had dinner and a movie."
Dark chuckled. "Ah, yes, I know that." He leaned from his spot on one side of the couch over to Satoshi's and ran his fingers down the side of the blunette's face. "But I love how red your ears get when you blush."
"Da-ark." The closed, secluded Satoshi actually attempted an almost-whine. Batting Dark's fingers away from his face, he then shot an almost-pout at the dark angel. "Now why would you do that?"
Dark's entire body stiffened.
"Dark." Krad called the other by his first name for the first time since their initial encounter, his placating tone contradicting with the scornful sneer on his face. "Now why would you do that?"
"I – uh…" Dark withdrew his arm, bringing it back to his side, and slowly lifted himself up from the sofa. His eyes went wide as the past began to entwine itself with the present. Suddenly, Satoshi didn't look as attractive anymore. His beautiful silver-blue hair shone with bright gold hues and his casual clothing flickered white with fancy cuffs.
"Why would you try to harm me for what I did for your little redhead?"
The concerned look Satoshi had now donned morphed into an ugly sneer, paired with a dangerous glare shot with striking tawny eyes.
"Don't make promises you can't keep, Dark."
"Dark? Dark!"
With eyes as wide and frightful as a deer in the headlights of an eighteen-wheeler, Dark bolted from the room. He reached the front door, struggled with the doorknob for a split second, and finally burst out when it gave way. He didn't look back.
Satoshi was left on the couch, wondering what he had said to make Dark so alarmed.
--
"He's been acting weird, y'know…" Satoshi stirred his lemonade slowly, watching as the ice crystals dissolved into nothingness. "We don't get out as much, and when we just hang around, he always seems so jumpy and…distant, like he's thinking about something so hard that he can't focus on the real world."
"Is that so?" Daisuke put away the canister of instant lemonade powder and nursed his own drink with slow, deliberate fingers.
"Things were supposed to be different one we all separated," Satoshi sighed. "When Dark and I…got together…we weren't supposed to be as awkward and hateful toward each other, like we were when he was the thief and I was the guy in charge of catching him. It was great in the beginning – but…then… Things changed. I don't know what came over him. Maybe it was me…or maybe something happened…"
Daisuke's eyebrows furrowed. "No, Hiwatari-kun. It could never be you. It was probably Dark. Do you want me to yell at him for you?" he voiced hesitantly.
Satoshi let the shadow of a smile ghost over his lips. "…No. But thanks for offering, Niwa-kun. You're a good friend." He didn't see how plastic Daisuke's smile became at the mention of his being a friend, and he certainly didn't see the flash of disappointment that glittered in his scarlet eyes for that split second.
Daisuke let out a strained laugh. "Yeah, well don't worry about it. Dark's like that, y'know? You don't know what it's like sharing a body with him. One minute he's all lovey-dovey and happy, the next he's sulking in his corner. He'll get over it eventually, and soon enough, you'll get back your romantic dates and your Dark."
Satoshi didn't seem to notice the fact that Daisuke had spat out the thief's name as though it had left a bad taste in his mouth. "I dunno, Niwa-kun. What if that was the phase? What if his being with me was all just a phase? What if this is the real him, and he doesn't want me anymore?" His cerulean eyes blinked slowly and he turned away from Daisuke's comforting gaze. "I…I shouldn't be talking to you about this," he sighed. "I don't want to seem…" He stared down at the tiles on the counter. "Weak."
Daisuke's face broke into a small, gentle smile. Slowly, he took Satoshi's hand, held it within his own, and guided the blunette's vision back up to him. "Hiwatari-kun, don't say that. We're friends," he said earnestly, trying his best not to change his facial expression at the word 'friends.' "We're supposed to be open about these things. Please don't treat me like an outsider. I would never think you were weak. You are the strongest person I know."
Satoshi stayed silent. Suddenly, his eyes hardened and a determined glint appeared within their endless, oceanic depths. "You know what, Niwa-kun? Thank you." He released Daisuke's hands, slipped off his stool, and headed toward the kitchen's backdoor. "You're not an outsider, Niwa-kun. I know you'll always be there for me." He gave Daisuke a genuine smile, one that made the redhead's heart flutter. "But right now, I'm gonna have a little chat with Dark…"
The door slammed as Satoshi left the house, leaving Daisuke alone in the kitchen with two full glasses of lemonade. He sighed, the enthusiastic face he had adopted a minute ago quickly fading away. "I'll always be there for him, yes, but can I bear being so close…?"
Outside, Satoshi was sprinting. He had to find Dark. It wasn't too late to turn things around.
--
"Damn that bastard. Damn him to hell and back."
The walking Krad smirked as he heard Dark curse his existence. However, as soon as he was sure Dark was nowhere near him, the smirk morphed into an ugly, malicious scowl.
"'Damn me,' Dark? No, no. Damn yourself. Who are you to deny me? Who are you to push away my advances? You are no one."
The blonde broke into an outright wicked laugh, one that would make others question his sanity.
"But don't you worry. You'll be mine yet. It's not too late to keep that promise you made to me. However… That does not mean I have to keep my side of the bargain up."
Another laugh burst from Krad's lips as he briskly walked to the 'meeting place' where he and his redhead usually met.
--
Dark closed the front door behind him as he stepped into the Niwa residence. "I'm home," he announced quietly, not expecting anyone to be waiting up for him.
However, noises in the kitchen attracted him. With the stealth of a thief, he inched toward the source of all the racket.
The first thing he saw was a bob of bright red hair, and immediately, his pulse quickened a bit. "Daisuke…" he whispered, his call inaudible to the other.
The redhead was at the sink, pouring something down the drain. He did it slowly, with limps arms and a slumped posture, and his hair seemed wilted and sad (if hair could even look sad…). The sight broke Dark's heart.
What could make Daisuke look so sad?
"So much for your dear Daisuke's innocence," he sneered scornfully. "And to think – you could have prevented it."
Silent, Dark turned around. Without even dropping a greeting to his ex-tamer, he tiptoed up the stairs and to his room, where the darkness of it dampened his spirits even more. He sighed, drank in the stale air, and dropped onto his bed with his head in his hands.
"Daisuke…"
The clanking of dishes came muffled up the stairs and through Dark's closed door, soon followed by Daisuke's now cheerful call, "If anyone's home, I'm going out for a walk!"
Dark's ears perked and released his face from his cupped hands. "'Going out for a walk'?" he whispered quietly. "Or walking straight back into Krad's horrible, stupid, bastard arms? Daisuke…can't you see that I love you?" He sighed. "When you were sad…when you were down… Why didn't you just come to me for comfort? Why him?"
Dark rose from the bed, the mattress squeaking in response to the loss of his weight. "I could have helped you. I could have loved those tears and worries away. I would have never hurt you. …But you went to him instead. And he hurts you. And yet, for some reason, you stay with him."
Dark punched the wall, a loud growl escaping his throat. "WHY?"
With red, tingling knuckles, Dark wrenched the door open and trudged out of the room.
As he stomped back down the stairs, Dark's mind wandered.
"And to think – you could have prevented it."
The dark angel froze. "Could've prevented it." Letting a halfhearted smirk appear on his face, Dark stared blankly into space. "He speaks as though there isn't enough time to prevent it." The halfhearted smirk disappeared, leaving room for a sincere smile. "But there is. I can prevent it."
With renewed vigor, Dark nearly skipped down the rest of the stairs. "It's never to late to save my Dai-chan and make him mine!"
--
No one will ever see
This side reflected
And if there's something wrong
Who would have guessed it
And I have left alone
Everything that I own
To make you feel like
It's not too late
It's never too late
--
Killah: Never Too Late is about suicide – er, at least that's what the straightforward lyrics tell me… Anyway, I can't have anyone in this fic too angsty (just yet, anyway), so no one's gonna be contemplating suicide any time soon. X.x Well, I took the 'Never Too Late' part…and crafted my chapter on it and it alone (yeah, pretty much). It's never too late to fix your relationship/rape your enemy/save your true love, now is it? xDDD
Also, I'm really sorry about the delay… I've just got my mind fixated on Why The Caged Bird Sings, and graduation is in a week. /bursts out crying/ We've got our finals, and I've gotta get focused on my valedictorian speech. /whistles innocently/ Which was due a coupl'a days ago…